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Topic: FREE PIZZA ALL YOU CAN EAT (Read 3030 times)

Hi All: I am closing out our Nov. books and we are rolling in the dough Seriously, we are making a good deal of money and I appreciate all the support I get here on the forum. It is the one place I can talk pizza as deep as I want to take it. So as my mother from Italy has said to me a million times over the years in her broken Italian/NJ accents- "the best thing you can do Walter is feeda the people froma your heart" and "if youa meant toa hang you never gonna drown". So if anyone is in the columbus Ohio area anytime let me know and we will feed you real deal NY style pizza, that I learned growning up in NJ, until you say uncle! Thanks for everything. Walter

misterchu: Please do come in. My students love serving people. I am doing this for the love of sharing some good food and to have some good times. I wish everyone did what was in their heart. Then there would be no need for stinking money. Everyone would get what they need and it all would be done with love, passsion, and quality. What a world it would be. This is my little piece of helping this dream happen

thanks johnny and you are right. I love giving. It feels so good and my students are the buddhas of giving. I learn from them everyday about this.

Walter, your generosity is only surpassed by your kindness and willingness to teach and share with all you meet and all of us on the forum. Your actions and heart are commendable.

Thank you !

Mark

Mark: Thanks. I am sorry we missed each other in Santa Rosa. I ran a similar operation out of Santa Rosa Middle School for 12 years (left in 2006). We did stuff like this all the time and unoffically ran our bakery/pizzeria because I lacked a commercial coded room but we made all we make now and sold them to over 30 business people downtown (their employees bought from us for themselves not to sell to the public). We had an incredibley ecclectic clientele. From the high end law offices, the hippy record store, the catholic homeless shelter, FISH, banks, thrift store, parking lot guards, realtor offices, cops(would stop us as we walked from shop to shop) and so on. We often would set up in front of the thrift store across the street from our school, have kids with signs saying great baked goods for sale here, I played my guitar, and my students drew sidewalk art. They were some good days! Walter

here I was in front of the hippy music store on 4th street. It got shut down for doing illegal activities. They let me set up there for free in the summers (I was off for the summers) and the turkish flower woman would feed me lunch everyday and sweep to my beats.

Very nice thread! I wish I live closer so I could enjoy your NY style pizzas. I love your mother's saying too.

Norma

Norma: My mother is a character- 85 and still going like a 20 year old. She is old school. Recently a landscaper came by her house and started working on her sprinkler system without even asking, screwed it all up, and gave her a 2k bill. A real scam artist. I told her I would come out and take care of the guy. She said" Walter you have a good job now. Why didn't this stuff happen when you were younger". We were both joking but her fiesty side is not one to tangle with. She is moving to PA in January to live next door to one of my sisters. It is in Mt. Bethel. Judy and I will be visiting at some point. Hopefully your shop is not far off our course. Walter

Norma: My mother is a character- 85 and still going like a 20 year old. She is old school. Recently a landscaper came by her house and started working on her sprinkler system without even asking, screwed it all up, and gave her a 2k bill. A real scam artist. I told her I would come out and take care of the guy. She said" Walter you have a good job now. Why didn't this stuff happen when you were younger". We were both joking but her fiesty side is not one to tangle with. She is moving to PA in January to live next door to one of my sisters. It is in Mt. Bethel. Judy and I will be visiting at some point. Hopefully your shop is not far off our course. Walter

Walter,

I enjoy hearing stories about your mother who is 85 and still going like a 20 year old. I really like the old school part about her too. I had to chuckle about her feisty side. My mother is sounds just about like your mother. Up until a few years ago she helped me at market and also helped me build my whole pizza stand. She is also a feisty person and sure is stubborn at times but is a great lady in many ways and is also very old school. My mother is in the process of going into a assisted retirement home community. I am dealing with all of that now and she is still feisty and giving her nurses in rehab her feisty side right now. My mother is now 91 years old going on 92 but acts much younger at times.

I looked on mapquest and it seems like Mt. Bethel is about an hour away from my pizza stand at market. Hope you can make it to my pizza stand sometime. I would enjoy meeting you and your wife Judy. I am sure I could learn a lot from you.

Norma: These are rough times with our parents dying and even harder living so long that they need to go into assisted living and such. I recently went through my father dying after 5 years of basically being homebound(why my mother is moving to PA). He didn't want to go to assisted living and luckily they had enough $ to hire aides and with my siblings ongoing visits to be able to die in the house. I am glad you had such good times with you mother and hopefully she will continue to be of sound mind and you are able to continue a loving relationship. An hour off our route is no big deal. We will be visiting you as soon as our dogs pass. Funny, I was thinking I will learn a lot from you. You are an expert on so many different approaches to pizza. You also show what can be done with a small space, extreme weather conditions, and an oven not the best for a commercial operation. See you. Walter

we have a snow/ice day-no school. There are 35 dough balls in the fridge that are as of today, 3 days old. The good news is Paige has begun to toss pies. She has been afraid of dropping them on the floor and I have finally convinced her that she can drop a hundred on the floor and it is no big deal/all part of the learning process. She started yesterday and already is doing great. She will most likely have a lot of dough to toss on Monday if we are back to work. The weather is calling for a crazy weekend here.

Norma: These are rough times with our parents dying and even harder living so long that they need to go into assisted living and such. I recently went through my father dying after 5 years of basically being homebound(why my mother is moving to PA). He didn't want to go to assisted living and luckily they had enough $ to hire aides and with my siblings ongoing visits to be able to die in the house. I am glad you had such good times with you mother and hopefully she will continue to be of sound mind and you are able to continue a loving relationship. An hour off our route is no big deal. We will be visiting you as soon as our dogs pass. Funny, I was thinking I will learn a lot from you. You are an expert on so many different approaches to pizza. You also show what can be done with a small space, extreme weather conditions, and an oven not the best for a commercial operation. See you. Walter

we have a snow/ice day-no school. There are 35 dough balls in the fridge that are as of today, 3 days old. The good news is Paige has begun to toss pies. She has been afraid of dropping them on the floor and I have finally convinced her that she can drop a hundred on the floor and it is no big deal/all part of the learning process. She started yesterday and already is doing great. She will most likely have a lot of dough to toss on Monday if we are back to work. The weather is calling for a crazy weekend here.

Walter,

My aging mother wanted to go into an assisted retirement community. We had talked that over in the last few months. She had to go to the hospital two times lately and even with my help giving her pills two times a day, doing what I could for her and taking her to the doctors and getting food for her she felt more depressed all the time and would not eat and drink right. She also developed Parkinson's disease and worried all the time. Her memory is failing some too. I could explain a lot more but basically that was has happened. Her team of doctors in her last stay at the hospital and her social worker all recommended she go into assisted living. Right now she is still in rehab but will go into assisted living on Tuesday. Her whole outlook on life has changed since she went to the retirement home. Her and my father had saved for many years so she has the money to go into a really good assisted living facility. She is now eating well three times a day and drinking well. She is also making friends and has many activities to choose from. She is also doing much better from therapy. She was even making cookies early in the morning with the help of therapists. I guess each persons situation is different but at home she said most of all her friends and all of her siblings and my father's siblings have passed and a lot of relatives don't live near her anymore. I feel a lot better now that my mother is happy. In the last month before my mother went into the hospital and then onto the rehab she kept saying she just wanted to die and let her alone. My mother is going into a suite at the retirement home. She will also have therapists that will work with her. I know I will never have enough money to go into a faculty like my mother but that is okay. I know I will continue to have good times with my mother for the time being because her mind and body are only partially failing right now. She is still very feisty and the one head nurse told me her aging grandmother is the same way as my mother. The head nurse told me no one else in her family wanted to care for her grandmother so she took the power of attorney and is trying make the right decisions for her.

I am glad things worked out so well for your father and he was able to stay at home like he wanted until he passed. I understand why your mother is moving to Pa.

Good to hear you will visit at some point in time. I really am not an expert on so many approaches to pizza. I just like to experiment to see what happens and am lucky to have a friend like Steve that has two WFO's for me to experiment in. I also learn a lot from Steve. Since you know so much about NY style pizza I know I can learn a lot from you. Maybe I could even learn how to properly toss skins from you which is something I never learned right.

Sorry to hear about your weather where you live. Your Paige is sure a winner and continues to amaze me. Stay safe in the bad weather. We might get some snow tomorrow.

Norma: Your mother is lucky to have you and such a place to finish her life. I will keep you both in my thoughts as this new chapter unfolds. I once read that the key to living a long life as gathered from asking lots of people over 90 was- do things in moderation, stay hopeful, laugh/cry, accept change, and be willing to make new friends when you life long ones die. A lot of the old bluesmen I played with had all but the first one down solid. If they had that one they probably would have lived to 200. It amazed me how they got such meaningful encounters from people they spoke to for a few minutes, who they never met before/after inbetween shows, how flexible they were with ever changing situations on the road, and how much they liked to laugh.

I don't know that I know that much about NY pies. To be honest, if you really get deep into that style, you find there are a ton of variations. I learned this naturally as a kid because each shop around us made a different pie. Maybe most people who go to the NYC area for the first time don't notice these things but growing up in it you just learn it by going to different places and finding the one or 2 that keep calling you back. IMO everyones pie should be a bit different and growing up that was pretty much the case in the places we had. As a kid I don't remember cold fermenting dough but I do it now. Things are always evolving and I think the most powerful part to being in a certain style is having been raised in it. People can come to it later in life who have not had this experience but I still feel it best to learn it in the culture. I have this problem with my french bread. I learned it from the guy who owned the corner bread store when my band was based out of Brussels for 2.5 years. He was from France and learned it there as a kid and that was all he did as a career. I make mine the same way I watched him but it still lacks that 5% that most people will never notice but it sticks out to me like it lacks 95%. Sometimes I feel like the internet has created a new culture of the 95%. It looks good but taste is missing that 5% and to me that is like 95% This is why I encourage people to find their own sound. Make your style and be proud of it. If others like it great. If not, who cares because IMO we should be making it to please ourself. Money has messed this approach all up.......... Walter

I am happy about the weather! We were to make 20 strombolis for the ROTC program today but the weather was discussed yesterday so no big deal. All our accounts are aware of when school is out we can't produce/deliver. I went down to my room, got 2 dough balls, some sauce, cheese, and a peel. Judy and I will home oven pizza tonight. Let it snow. I get paid for 5 snow days before we have to make them up. I have a very good job in so many ways.

Disclaimer: Don't necessarily believe anything I say here. My brain ain't quite right anymore (unless it is). If I come off as rude or argumentative, that's probably not my intention. Rather, that's just me being honest, to myself and everyone else; partly because I don't have enough time left to BS either you or myself. If you are offended by anything I say, it's probably because you think lying to people (to be "polite") is a good idea. I don't.

Seriously? A snow day? We got about 1/8" of snow, which is only still visible on the deck, in the shade. Whatever was visible on the grass is now gone.

You still planning to go to RD this weekend, Walter?

Hi Ryan: I was suprised too. I think it is the prediction of heavy snow this afternoon and it was pretty icy here at 6am. Right now it is pretty nice-time to take the dogs for a nice walk. I still am blown away that I get paid when I don't work. All I know is we have 4 more free snow days to go. I am not sure on RD. There is a good amount of snow predicted this weekend. I think I will wait until we get a clear weekend. I am off from dec 21- jan 5. I think I will wait till then. I will let you know and if you want to come and make some pizzas over the break let me know. Walter

Norma: Your mother is lucky to have you and such a place to finish her life. I will keep you both in my thoughts as this new chapter unfolds. I once read that the key to living a long life as gathered from asking lots of people over 90 was- do things in moderation, stay hopeful, laugh/cry, accept change, and be willing to make new friends when you life long ones die. A lot of the old bluesmen I played with had all but the first one down solid. If they had that one they probably would have lived to 200. It amazed me how they got such meaningful encounters from people they spoke to for a few minutes, who they never met before/after inbetween shows, how flexible they were with ever changing situations on the road, and how much they liked to laugh.

I don't know that I know that much about NY pies. To be honest, if you really get deep into that style, you find there are a ton of variations. I learned this naturally as a kid because each shop around us made a different pie. Maybe most people who go to the NYC area for the first time don't notice these things but growing up in it you just learn it by going to different places and finding the one or 2 that keep calling you back. IMO everyones pie should be a bit different and growing up that was pretty much the case in the places we had. As a kid I don't remember cold fermenting dough but I do it now. Things are always evolving and I think the most powerful part to being in a certain style is having been raised in it. People can come to it later in life who have not had this experience but I still feel it best to learn it in the culture. I have this problem with my french bread. I learned it from the guy who owned the corner bread store when my band was based out of Brussels for 2.5 years. He was from France and learned it there as a kid and that was all he did as a career. I make mine the same way I watched him but it still lacks that 5% that most people will never notice but it sticks out to me like it lacks 95%. Sometimes I feel like the internet has created a new culture of the 95%. It looks good but taste is missing that 5% and to me that is like 95% This is why I encourage people to find their own sound. Make your style and be proud of it. If others like it great. If not, who cares because IMO we should be making it to please ourself. Money has messed this approach all up.......... Walter

I am happy about the weather! We were to make 20 strombolis for the ROTC program today but the weather was discussed yesterday so no big deal. All our accounts are aware of when school is out we can't produce/deliver. I went down to my room, got 2 dough balls, some sauce, cheese, and a peel. Judy and I will home oven pizza tonight. Let it snow. I get paid for 5 snow days before we have to make them up. I have a very good job in so many ways.

Walter,

Thank you for your kind words. I am a people watcher and have watched people at the retirement community my mother is soon to enter from rehab. They have a really big dining room for assisted living and I have watched all of the distinguished looking men and woman and what they do. I sometimes wonder what went on in their lives. Most of them are dressed well and look like they might be going out for a night on the town. I then see them sitting in a big room where many couches and chairs are after they eat and I guess they talk about things that interest them and what they might plan to do. I have talked to a few of them and most of them are highly intelligent. I think most of them could give many people lots of good advice on everything. The one head nurse does know how to make great Panettone from her old relatives in Italy and she is going to teach me how to make that in exchange for me helping her learn how to make clear toy candy but that won't be until after the holidays.

Thanks for sharing your story about NY pies. You were lucky your learn naturally as a kid and went on from there to do you own unique style of NY pies. I agree about each pie being a little different to keep them interesting. I can see the value of being raised the way you were. You were lucky to have learned your French bread from a man that owned the corner bread store. I also agree about people finding their own sound and being proud of it. You sure are an interesting man and I really like to hear your stories.

Glad you are happy about the bad weather. Nice to hear you retrieved some dough balls and Judy and you will make pizzas tonight in your home oven.

I am off from dec 21- jan 5. I think I will wait till then. I will let you know and if you want to come and make some pizzas over the break let me know. Walter

Walter, that might work out real good, especially if what I'm about to say works for you.

Here's the deal: On my couchsurfing.org profile, I make it known that I would love to make pizza for guests once I am able to start hosting travelers (which I won't be able to do until after I move). Well, I recently received a message from a Chinese traveler (or student) who will be doing something at OSU until about 12/23. He wanted to take me up on my pizza offer, but I had to decline because I still live out in the middle of nowhere with my parents.

If I'm able to coordinate a time that would work for both you and the traveler (probably on 12/21 or 12/22), would you be interested in trying to make it work?

Disclaimer: Don't necessarily believe anything I say here. My brain ain't quite right anymore (unless it is). If I come off as rude or argumentative, that's probably not my intention. Rather, that's just me being honest, to myself and everyone else; partly because I don't have enough time left to BS either you or myself. If you are offended by anything I say, it's probably because you think lying to people (to be "polite") is a good idea. I don't.

Walter, I will be attending the 2014 NAPICS convention. Will you be attending?

I never heard of this event until this evening when I had a phone conversation with aimless ryan. I looked at the website and probably will pass. I have the ovens of my dreams, and my pies satify me. Those big events are not really my scene. If you would like to stop by my setup while you are out here that would be great. You would be welcome to make some pies, hang out, etc. Anyday is good. If not, I hope you have a great time at the show. Walter

Disclaimer: Don't necessarily believe anything I say here. My brain ain't quite right anymore (unless it is). If I come off as rude or argumentative, that's probably not my intention. Rather, that's just me being honest, to myself and everyone else; partly because I don't have enough time left to BS either you or myself. If you are offended by anything I say, it's probably because you think lying to people (to be "polite") is a good idea. I don't.